


"What Are You?"

by Anonymous



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Gen, Philza is a cryptid or something idk, Piglin Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Sleepy Bois Inc as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 23:14:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29125527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: He steps forward, his face ever neutral. “We saw,” he says in a monotone voice.Phil’s heart drops....He sighs with a smile, not allowing his nervousness to slip through. “I guess I’m not as slick as I thought, huh?”
Relationships: Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson
Comments: 3
Kudos: 263
Collections: anonymous





	"What Are You?"

**Author's Note:**

> Got sudden inspiration to post this after thinking about Phil headcanons. I wanted this to take an hour but it took three days.
> 
> Tommy, Wil, and Techno are all between 6-11 here, and Wilbur and Techno aren't twins. Everyones based off their characters in the DSMP obviously, but this story doesn't take place in that universe.
> 
> Also posted on anon because I refuse to make another damn alt account and I'm not posting this publicly to a pre-existing one. You can find me on tumblr as sbiminustubbo.

It happens quicker than a turn of the head.

A noise to his right and Phil reverts in an instant. His hands and feet regain their shape, and the protruding feathers speckled across his skin disappear. Other features remain, his antlers easily hidden beneath his hat and his wings draped flat across his back like a cape.

Phil can’t make out what lurks at the foot of the stairs in the dim light of the lantern in the kitchen behind him, but he’s not scared — not for his sake. He already knows. He just prays they didn’t see.

“Come out from there. I already heard you.”

From behind the wall at the base of the stairs, three pajamaed little boys shuffle through the doorway, all wearing shameful expressions on their faces. They look wide awake and alert despite the fact he had put them to bed nearly two hours prior. Techno, in particular (the eldest of the three), stares at him intently.

With a warm, gentle smile, Phil walks over and kneels in front of them, placing a hand on two of their heads. “Oh, you scared me, boys,” he says quietly, his heart still racing. “What are you three doing up so late?”

They’re all quiet for a moment.

“Tommy had to go potty,” Wilbur, the second eldest, says. “He was scared n’ didn’t wanna go by himself.”

Phil looks between Wilbur and Techno before looking down at Tommy, his hand clasped in Wilbur’s. “And you needed both of them, big guy?” he gently ruffles his hair.

Tommy grins and giggles, his two front teeth missing. “Wilby was scared too!”

Phil’s smile fades just a bit. “I’m surprised,” He says, smiling at Techno. “Normally, you leave them to fend for themselves. Look at you being a good older brother.”

Techno simply snorts in reply, his arms crossed in their usual manner. No doubt he wasn’t happy being awake at this hour. Techno was a fickle 11-year-old. If he didn’t get his sleep, he’d be a grump all the next day.

Tommy and Wilbur, on the other hand, seemed perfectly fine — if a bit off. They keep glancing between each other and Techno. The look in their eyes makes Phil grow worried.

“...Is something the matter?”

Their eyes immediately snap back to him. “Nothing!” Wilbur bursts out. “We were just heading back to bed!”

He watches them a second longer. They didn’t seem frightened or wary of him, and they didn’t cower away from his touch. “Alright, well, is there anything else?”

All three of them stand in place uncomfortably silent. Tommy and Wilbur glance at the stairs, looking ready to leave, but Techno blocks their way. The young piglin looks to them as if silently communicating before returning his attention to Phil.

He steps forward, his face ever neutral. “We saw,” he says in a monotone voice.”

Phil’s heart drops.

“Saw what, sweetheart?” he asks, tilting his head in mock curiosity, trying not to react.

“We’re not stupid,” Techno snorts back sternly. He glares up at Phil, suspicious, Wilbur and Tommy standing beside him. “You’ve been hiding it from us.”

Phil is silent.

Techno never was as trusting as his brothers. He warmed up to Phil eventually, but he was still wary. He questions anything and everything. He’s been suspicious and cautious ever since he took them in. That was good. Wilbur and Tommy needed someone like that by their side. He honestly doesn’t know where these kids would be without Techno looking out for them.

He sighs with a smile, not allowing his nervousness to slip through. “I guess I’m not as slick as I thought, huh?”

The reaction is instantaneous, their eyes going wide. Maybe in horror, perhaps surprise. Techno steps forward, determined. “Show us.”

Regretfully, he agrees. “Alright.”

Without another word, Phil shifts in front of their eyes. It’s nothing grandiose. It’s not even a real transformation, just a fancy camouflage display. They watch, amazed, as new features come into view. It’s still dark, and his wings block the dim light coming from the kitchen.

Phil folds up his wings and holds his limbs close to his body to appear as small and nonthreatening as possible. He knows how intimidating he must seem to a small child. Let alone one that’s lived with you for several months under the impression you were their _human_ caretaker. They all stare at him for a painfully long moment.

“Woah,” Tommy says in amazement, examining one of Phil’s black, scaly hands. He’s careful to keep his claws pointed away from him. “Your nails are sharp! Your feet too!”

“They’re talons,” Techno corrects, watching from a short distance. “And they can probably poke your eyes out.”

He probably didn’t mean it like that, but the comment from Techno stings a bit, and he retracts his hand further. However, Tommy lets out a little “Oooo,” of interest, which almost made him chuckle.

Phil feels his wing being extended outward and turns his head to see Wilbur pulling on the little hooked bone protruding from the limb. He stretches to full span for him, his feathers grazing against the wall. Wilbur runs through them from the other side like a curtain, staring at them in awe.

“You have wings… and antlers!” The boy points up to Phil’s hat, where his horns protrude. “And little feathers poking out of your face!”

“Yes…” Phil says hesitantly, somewhat off-put by their reactions. He may have expected them to warm up to his appearance after a bit, not this enthusiastic curiosity. “You two are very observant.”

After enough poking and prodding, Tommy, Wilbur, and Techno satisfy their curiosity and return their attention back to Phil. He can tell they all have about a million questions, most of which he wouldn’t understand how they were the least bit relevant. The mind of a child had a strange order of priorities, he had learned.

“Why did you hide?” Tommy asks, looking up at Phil.

That catches him off guard, and he has to think for a moment. It’s not that he didn’t have an answer. He just didn’t know how to explain. Not in a way they could understand.

He decides a vague answer is best.

“...Because I know it’s scary,” Phil says, gently patting Tommy’s hair making the young boy smile. “I didn’t want to frighten any of you.”

“You’re not scary,” Tommy giggles. “You’re Papa!”

“I think you look cool!” Wilbur says, returning to stand by Tommy.

Phil smiles softly. “I’m glad, but... not everyone thinks that way,” he says. “There are people who would... hurt me because of what I am.”

Wilbur and Tommy frown, their brows furrowing. They’re silent for a moment before Techno steps between them. “And just _what_ are you?” he asks, determination earnest in his eyes.

Phil rubs the back of his neck with a sigh. That’s something he’s been asking himself for years. “I don’t know what I am,” he admits. “I’ve been trying to figure that out for a long time.” They all deflate in disappointment. “But,” they perk up again. “I know _who_ I am.”

Wilbur has his eyes trained on him. "And?"

Phil smiles warmly. "I'm a man living by his own rules, making my own choices, and deciding for myself what it means to be a person," he says. "More importantly, I am a father to three of the sweetest boys in the world—"

"Awwww," they all coo sweetly, piling on him for a group hug.

"— _That need to get back to bed before I realize how late it is_."

They all moan in unison. "Awwww."

Of course, Tommy and Wilbur are wide awake from excitement and refuse to go to bed. They’re excited talking a million miles a minute and asking about a dozen different questions. It takes some convincing, but with Techno’s help, Phil wrangles them back to their room. It takes even longer for them to fall asleep, not allowing Phil to leave until he’s answered at least 20 different questions.

"So, how do you do that?" Techno asks, crawling into bed by his two sleeping brothers.

Phil turns around and tilts his head, his abnormal features already tucked away for the night. "What, look human?" Techno nods. "I dunno," Phil says with a shrug. “It’s just something I’ve always been able to do. It might be natural to whatever I am, might just be a me thing.”

Techno looks disappointed as if that wasn’t the answer he wanted. “Oh.”

Phil is quiet for a moment. He smiles sympathetically and walks over to the bed, patting Techno on the head between his ears. “Hmm, piglins can’t shapeshift…” He pauses. “but you _can_ use magic.”

Techno looks at his surprise. “I can?”

Phil nods. “It trickier than natural camouflage, but I know some illusion spells… I can teach you if you'd like."

Techno sits up, eyes wide. "Really?"

"Of course. We’ll start whenever you like," Phil says, laying Techno back down and tucking him into bed.

“How about tomorrow morning?” he asks excitedly. “Before everyone gets up?”

No sooner than the crack of dawn, huh? “As long as you promise to go to sleep,” Phil chuckles.

Phil stays a bit longer, only turning out the light of the lantern when he’s sure they’re asleep. After all the unexpected commotion from tonight, it was nice to hear the sound of nothing echo through the house. The boys discovering his real appearance had been one of his worst fears, but their reaction had been anything but what he expected.

It’s as he stands there, appreciating the silence, does he realize how lucky he is to have the honor of raising these boys. He shouldn’t have thought they would react any different.

**Author's Note:**

> TBH I didn't have a specific idea for what he is in this fic, so it's up to interpretation. I personally prefer my idea of Phil as just being a normal guy with wings for some reason, but the idea of cryptid Phil is also super fun. I like to view him as a Tengu :)


End file.
